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Durham activist arrested in connection to Confederate statue protest

Takiya Fatima Thompson was arrested by the Durham County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, in connection with the removal and vandalism of a Confederate statue. The charges include felony participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 and felony inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of $1,500.

Takiya Fatima Thompson was arrested by the Durham County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, in connection with the removal and vandalism of a Confederate statue. The charges include felony participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 and felony inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of $1,500. Submitted video

Takiya Fatima Thompson was arrested by the Durham County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017, in connection with the removal and vandalism of a Confederate statue. The charges include felony participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 and felony inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of $1,500. Submitted video

The protester who climbed a ladder to help bring down a Confederate soldier statue was arrested Tuesday, and Sheriff Mike Andrews said his office will pursue felony charges against others.

“Let me be clear, no one is getting away with what happened,” Andrews said.

Takiyah Thompson, a member of Workers World Party and student at N.C. Central University, was arrested after activists held a press conference at NCCU Tuesday afternoon.

In a release Thompson said she was the one who tied a rope around the soldier’s neck so that others could pull the statue to the ground.

The protest left The Confederate Soldiers Monument, dedicated on May 10, 1924, headless on the grass.

Thompson was charged with participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 (Class H Felony) and inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of $1,500 (Class F Felony), the Sheriff’s Office said.

She also was charged with disorderly conduct by injury to a statue and damage to real property, both misdemeanors.

Demands

At the press conference, activists demanded all charges be dropped and that Gov. Roy Cooper call for immediate removal of all Confederate statues across the state.

The group also demanded Durham city and county leaders attend “mass public forums to allow the community to speak-out about their concerns for public display of Confederate statues.”

In a social media post Tuesday, Cooper announced he was calling upon the legislature to repeal a 2015 law that prevents removal or relocation of monuments. Cities, counties and the state must have “the authority and opportunity” to make these decisions, he said.

“My first responsibility as governor is to protect North Carolinians and keep them safe,” Cooper said. “The likelihood of protesters being injured or worse as they may try to topple any one of the hundreds of monuments in our state concerns me. And the potential for those same white supremacist elements we saw in Charlottesville to swarm the site, weapons in hand, in retaliation is a threat to public safety.”

‘The boys in gray’

Monday’s rally began around 6 p.m. as more than 50 people gathered in front of the now Durham County administration building. They chanted. They shared their experiences in Charlottesville, Virginia and demanded that people fight racism across the South.